Spring Branch ISD teacher Whitney Grunder Laidlaw, 31, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 and inappropriate relationship with a student. She has been placed on administrative leave and is listed as a seventh grade English language arts and social studies teacher at the Cornerstone Academy.

Spring Branch ISD teacher Whitney Grunder Laidlaw, 31, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 and inappropriate relationship with a student. She has been

Spring Branch ISD teacher Whitney Grunder Laidlaw, 31, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 and inappropriate relationship with a student. She has been placed on administrative leave and is listed as a seventh grade English language arts and social studies teacher at the Cornerstone Academy.

Spring Branch ISD teacher Whitney Grunder Laidlaw, 31, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 and inappropriate relationship with a student. She has been

The relationship began during the 2017-2018 school year, detectives allege.

The student was enrolled in Laidlaw's hip hop class at Cornerstone Academy. At some point during the school year, Laidlaw and the student exchanged phone numbers and began communicating through text, Instagram and Snapchat, officials said.

Toward the end of the school year, Laidlaw allegedly texted the girl saying she had feelings for her.

Then, throughout the course of summer break, Laidlaw allegedly tried to get the student to sneak out of her apartment to meet up with her, court documents show.

The girl refused to sneak out, so Laidlaw began driving to the girl's apartment after the girl's mother had already left for work. The two would sneak out into Laidlaw's vehicle where they would have sexual relations, according to court documents.

Laidlaw would send sexually explicit photos and videos to the girl, asking her to reciprocate – but the girl refused, detectives allege.

The relationship came to light when the girl's father found messages between her and Laidlaw on the girl's phone, police said.

Officers with the Houston Police Department tried to interview Laidlaw at Cornerstone Academy, but she allegedly refused to cooperate. It is unclear when that interaction happened.

Spring Branch ISD officials removed the seventh grade teacher from the classroom last week after learning of the allegations. She has been placed on administrative leave.

Laidlaw has been released from the Harris County Jail on bail and ordered to have no contact with the student, according to court records.

"We are outraged by this alleged conduct," the district said in a statement. "The safety of every SBISD student is our very highest priority, and having a strong moral compass is a key district core value. We will never tolerate inappropriate actions on the part of any district employee who endangers or harms our students. These allegations, if true, are a complete breach of the trust our children, our community, and we place in our educators."

Counselors will be available to speak with students at Cornerstone.

Anyone with more information about this case is encouraged to contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-5500 or the Spring Branch ISD Police Department at 713-984-9805.